Mindset: How Successful Fundraisers Think Differently
Summary
In this episode of the 7-Figure Fundraising Podcast, Trevor Bragdon sits down with Tarren Bragdon, his brother and co-founder of 7-Figure Fundraising. Tarren is the CEO of the Foundation for Government Accountability, a nonprofit he started in 2011 with $50,000 in seed money and has grown to produce $13 million in revenue annually. He also teaches the 7-Figure Fundraising Workshop.
Like many who work in nonprofits, Tarren had no experience in fundraising or managing people when he began a small nonprofit. Through years of experience working in policy and then as a nonprofit CEO, Tarren learned fundraising is the key to a successful nonprofit. However, few people in the nonprofit sector are taught how to fundraise — and fewer are taught how to do it well.
Tarren shares the most important mindsets to be a successful fundraiser, how to use them to build a partnership with big money donors and ask for 5, 6 and 7-figure donations that will allow your nonprofit accomplish great things.
Existing donors first
Tarren points out that working for a nonprofit is a different kind of work. It’s harder than working for a for-profits because no one is buying a product. Many nonprofits fall into the trap of thinking that if they can get more donors, they’ll get more donations. Rather, focus should be on existing donors first and on new revenue sources second.
Beware the poverty mindset
Often, because nonprofits want to be good stewards of their donors’ money, they can fall into focusing on short-term cost rather than long-term gains. This is one of the things that holds nonprofits back the most.
11:07 “It’s the difference between surviving and thriving . . . (11:16) A lot of people, whether they have money or not, struggle with [the question], ‘What do I need to do today so that I have a better life nine months from now?’ Fundraising is all about that. If I don’t do something today, I won’t feel it maybe for six months or nine months, but by the time I feel it, it could be too late to recover.”
Tarren stresses that fundraising is a nonprofit CEO’s top priority and that your organization will succeed or fail because of it. Give fundraising the time and attention it needs, and avoid the poverty mindset.
Focus on vision, not on the If I had big money mindset
To inspire big monetary gifts, nonprofit leaders must define and communicate a vision for their organization.
16:03 “I think we don’t think about the fact that people who have a lot of money have acquired it by doing big things, and with their philanthropy they want to do the exact same thing. And, so, you have to lay out the roadmap, if you will.”
Big money from donors and big execution from the nonprofit will equal a big success, all based on the shared vision.
Donors vs. Partners
Tarren shares that the donor and nonprofit’s relationship is best described as a partnership.
18:08 “It implies that one person is providing one thing in the relationship and the other person is providing something complementary but different. . . . (18:22) It is your vision and their support — and your execution as a result of their support — that makes this big impact possible.”
Tarren recalls a conversation with a major donor who said he felt it was easier to make money than to give it away. This gave Tarren a new perspective when asking for money because he realized the importance of communicating to donors the return on their gift, as demonstrated through results and metrics important to them, such as profitability or job creation. He learned, too, that donors invest in CEOs. Because of this, CEOs must be fundraising experts — and it’s a skill they must learn.
Tarren says if he could go 10 years back in time to when he was a new nonprofit head and give himself advice, he would tell himself that learning how to fundraise is the most important thing you can focus on and to learn it early. Today, he is a highly successful non-profit CEO because he’s driven by getting the fundamentals of fundraising right, prioritizing it in his leadership and innovating along the way.
30:53 “If America and the world had millions of high functioning, well-funded nonprofits, we’d be living in a much better place. It’s exciting to help people learn that while at the same time living it.”
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